Steamed Tofu Dumplings with a Hot and Tangy Sauce

Here is a healthy snack that you can make in a jiffy. The original recipe was with paneer but I had to settle for tofu since I did not have any paneer on hand.

Ingredients

Sauce

White vinegar – 2 tbsps

Tomato ketchup – 1-2 tbsps according to taste

Red chilli paste – 1 tsp or to taste (I used Siracha chilli sauce)

Dumplings

Tofu – ½ cup

Finely chopped vegetables – ¼ cup

Dried dill leaves – 1 tbsp

Rava /sooji (semolina) – 2 tsps

Rolled oats – 2 tsps

Baking powder – ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil, while stirring continuously. Simmer on low heat for 4-5 minutes, take it off the heat and keep aside to cool.

Dumplings

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Divide into equal sized balls and steam for about 6-7 minutes (I steamed them in my idly stand).  They get a little sticky if placed together, so do not overcrowd. When slightly cooled, remove from the steamer and serve with the hot and tangy sauce. Bon Appétit. 

Link to original recipe - http://www.tarladalal.com/Steamed-Paneer-Dumplings-With-Spicy-Sauce-%28-Healthy-Starter-Recipe-%29-34731r

Recipe sent to 

Muli Paratha

I have always been a great fan of rotis and parathas. My husband loves Indian breads too, which is an incentive for a lot of paratha lunchs and dinners at our home. Last week, I made muli paratha for dinner. The parathas received mixed appreciation at our dinner table, but it did become a part of our home menu :-)

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour to make about 4 – 6 parathas

Muli – 1 cup grated

Onion – 1 cup finely chopped

Tomato – 1 cup finely chopped

Ginger & garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Cilantro – 2 tbsp finely chopped

Red chillies – 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a pan and sauté onion until it turns golden brown. Add ginger & garlic paste, tomato and stir well.  Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and grated muli. Mix well and cook until all the water is absorbed. Add cilantro and remove from stove. Allow the cooked mixture to cool.

Knead the wheat flour to make soft dough. Divide the prepared mixture and the dough equally. Roll the dough into flat bread. Keep a portion of the prepared muli mixture on the rolled dough. Fold the dough and roll the stuffed dough into flat bread.

Cook the bread on a tawa and serve hot with raita and chutney.

Eggplant Thokku

My husband has been asking me to make this eggplant side dish which is served with Biriyani. I have never had this combination before and had no idea what it was. Anyway, a few days ago, my mother-in-law said she saw this brinjal thokku recipe on TV and I had to try it out. Even though it has a little too much oil for my liking, the taste was too good to miss.

Ingredients

Diced eggplant – 2 cups

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Asafoetida – ½ tsp

Fenugreek powder – ½ tsp

Chilli powder to taste

Thick tamarind pulp to taste

Salt to taste

Jaggery to taste (optional)

Mustard seeds – 1-1 ½ tsps

Gingelly oil – ¼ cup or more

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. As they splutter, add the diced eggplant and sauté till they are tender. Add the tamarind pulp, salt, turmeric, chilli and asafoetida and jaggery (if using). Let it come to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the pieces are well cooked and almost completely mashed and the oil comes to the surface.

Remove from the heat, add the fenugreek powder and serve with biriyani, idly, dosa or chapathi. Bon Appétit. 

Recipe sent to

Little Hearts

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s day. I baked these little heart shaped cookies yesterday and they turned out to be really delicious. These ultra light, melt in your mouth cookies are just perfect for any day.

Ingredients

Egg whites - 3

Sugar – ¾ cup

Vanilla extract (optional) – ½ tsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and keep ready.

Beat the egg whites and sugar until it forms soft, white peaks. (be patient, this will take a few minutes). Add the vanilla. Transfer the fluffy egg whites into an icing bag or a zip lock bag and pipe out little hearts onto the parchment paper (you can change the shape according to your liking). Make sure the hearts are not too close to each other.

Bake the cookies for at least 2 ½ hours or until they have hardened. These delicate cookies can be stored in an airtight container for about three days. Bon Appétit. 

Link to original recipe - http://www.marthastewart.com/312867/pillowy-meringue-hearts.

Note -The original recipe calls for whisking the egg whites and brown sugar in a heat resistant bowl of a stand mixer.  I do not have one, so I tried using a regular porcelain bowl. It did not work, the egg-sugar mixture became slightly warm and would not rise at all when I tried beating it with my electric beater. I had to start all over again and that's when I switched to regular white sugar too.

Recipe sent to

Broken Wheat Adai

Adai is one of my favourite crepe varieties. It is usually made with a rice-lentil batter and comes out super crispy. The broken wheat version is definitely healthier and trust me you won’t miss the rice. Another advantage is that neither do you have to soak the ingredients for a long time nor ferment the batter like normal idly/dosa better.

This recipe is from one of my mom’s best friends.

Ingredients (Serves 2-3)

Broken wheat – ½ cup

Channa dal – 2 tbsps (approx)

Toor dal – 1 tbsp (approx)

Urad dal – 1 tbsps (approx)

Moong dal – 1 tbsp (approx)

Cumin seeds – 1-1 ½ tsps

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Asafoetida – ½ tsp

Curry leaves

Red chili to taste

Salt to taste

Water for grinding

Chopped onions

Method

Soak the broken wheat and dals (combine all dals to make ½ cup) for at least an hour. When grinding, add the cumin, fennel, asafoetida, curry leaves, salt and water and grind to make a smooth batter (you can also leave it coarsely ground if you like the texture).

Add the chopped onions and make them as you would make dosas. Serve hot with your favourite chutney or sambar…or both. Bon Appétit.